From Sunday 23 July to Friday 25 August 2023, Network Rail engineers will carry out major improvements to a 20-mile stretch of railway in north London.
The improvements over the summer will include:
- Installing 18,000 modern concrete sleepers in place of wooden ones dating back to the 1950s
- Upgrading 1km of railway drainage between Harlesden and Stonebridge Park to prevent future flooding
- Replacing 48km of cabling for signals – traffic lights for trains
- Improvements to six stations including Watford High Street
- Station makeovers will include platform resurfacing and roof canopy maintenance
- Upgrading the power supply for Underground and Overground trains
This will affect the Bakerloo line between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone stations and the London Overground between Euston and Watford Junction stations, with the closures in four phases:
Phase 1 – Sunday 23 July – Sunday 30 July
- Bakerloo line closed between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone
- London Overground closed between Euston and Watford Junction
Phase 2: Monday 31 July – Thursday 10 August
- Bakerloo line closed between Stonebridge Park and Harrow & Wealdstone
- London Overground closed between Willesden Junction and Watford Junction
Phase 3: Friday 11 August – Thursday 17 August
- Bakerloo line closed between Queen’s Park and Harrow & Wealdstone
- London Overground closed between Euston and Watford Junction
Phase 4: Friday 18 August – Friday 25 August
- Bakerloo line fully open
- London Overground closed between Willesden Junction and Watford Junction
Closing sections of these two lines for five consecutive weeks means that maintenance teams can carry out multiple complex projects at once which would otherwise take years of weekend or overnight working.
For instance, the sleeper replacements could have taken between seven and eight years of midweek overnight shifts to get done.
For the signal cable replacement, it’s estimated 10 years of work is being condensed into the five-week closure period, saving both time and taxpayers’ money.
“We know there’s never an ideal time to close the railway, so I’d like to thank passengers for their understanding in advance while we carry out these significant improvements to the Bakerloo line and London Overground,” said James Dean, Network Rail’s West Coast South route director.
“I appreciate that doing this essential work over consecutive weeks will be disruptive for passengers so I’d urge people to keep in mind the line between Euston and Watford will be closed and to check National Rail Enquiries and TfL for alternative public transport options in and out of the capital.”
From Sunday 23 July to Friday 25 August, TfL customers affected by the upgrades can complete their journeys by using alternative rail lines, and existing or temporary bus routes.
Geoff Hobbs, director of public transport service planning for TfL, said: “We’re sorry for the disruption that Network Rail’s essential track renewal work will cause to our customers’ journeys and are working closely with them to minimise the impact. Closures of this type enable work to be carried out which will make customer journeys more reliable in future and are scheduled to take place, where possible, in school holidays when demand on our network is significantly reduced.
“These closures will also be used to carry out improvement works at the stations that are temporarily closed. We advise our customers to use TfL’s Journey Planner or the TfL Go app to plan their journeys in advance during this period.”
Image credit: Network Rail
